The Neuropathology Core is an essential part of the ADCC. The clinical syndromes generated by[unreadable] Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative disorders associated with aging are not, of[unreadable] themselves, pathognomonic diagnostic phenomena. Neuropathological examination of the post-mortem[unreadable] brain is therefore the only means by which a definite diagnosis can be attained. A second major role of the[unreadable] Neuropathology Core is to provide neuropathologically characterized brain tissue to basic scientists, both[unreadable] within the ADCC and outside it, enabling them to discover the underlying molecular mechanisms of disease[unreadable] and design appropriate therapeutic interventions. A detailed understanding of the genetic and molecular[unreadable] processes of disease pathogenesis, obtained by comparative study of diseased and non-diseased brain[unreadable] tissue, remains the major approach to finding such interventions. A third important goal of the[unreadable] Neuropathology Core is to help develop a collaborative synergy that will enhance the research productivity of[unreadable] the entire Center. Our Specific Aims are as follows: 1) To provide precise neuropathologic diagnoses of[unreadable] patients who have been clinically studied. 2)To provide basic scientists with neuropathologically[unreadable] characterized brain tissue suitable for the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of AD and related[unreadable] disorders. 3) To share neuropathological skills, expertise and knowledge with all ADCC investigators,[unreadable] facilitating a collaborative synergy that will enhance the research productivity of all. 4) To optimize usage of[unreadable] collected neuropathologic data within the ADCC and the scientific community at large. 5) To assist[unreadable] researchers in the study of the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease, with the goal of identifying therapeutic[unreadable] strategies that will prevent the disease or slow its progress.